


Day 29: Shiver

by mrs_d



Series: Do What I Wantober 2020 [29]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: F/M, celestial drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrs_d/pseuds/mrs_d
Summary: Chloe suspected something was going on down there. Lucifer's 'business trips' had been getting longer and more frequent lately, and now, for the first time, he was late coming home.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Series: Do What I Wantober 2020 [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947496
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46





	Day 29: Shiver

Chloe pulled her jacket tighter against the wind and glanced at her watch. Still seven minutes to midnight. She could have — and maybe she should have — stayed in the car a little longer, but she was afraid she’d miss it. 

She always had before; Lucifer was usually waiting by the water when she arrived. She didn’t complain, of course — she’d be overjoyed to see him at any time of the day or night — but she’d made a mental note to arrive a little ahead of time today, so she could try and catch a glimpse. 

“You realize it’s not like the movies, right?” he’d said when she shared this with him. “No swirling purple lights, or smoke, or flashes of another dimension?”

“I know,” she said, even though she didn’t really know. (How could she? She’d never seen a real portal.)

“It’s very boring,” he added. “Basically, I appear from nowhere, and that’s it.”

“I still want to see it,” Chloe told him.

“All right,” he concluded, with a little sigh that she’d come to think of his _Oh_ _, my silly little human_ sigh. 

She stamped her feet, the heels of her boots sinking into the sand, and rubbed her upper arms. It had been warmer during the day, but, despite popular opinion, California did have winter. She was more or less dressed for it, with long sleeves under her leather jacket and a silk scarf around her neck. The scarf had been a gift from Lucifer, and probably way too valuable to be in her normal rotation of work outfits, given how much blood and blowback she was exposed to on a regular basis. But she liked to wear it, liked the feel of its fine material against her skin, reminding her of Lucifer’s shirts and bedsheets. It made being apart a little easier. 

There was always a tiny part of her brain that whispered insecurities while he was away, telling her that he was bored of her, that she couldn’t live up to the life he’d had, that she was holding him down, and that he wouldn’t come back this time. She’d done a pretty good job of ignoring that voice all day. In fact, she’d walked away from a tough case tonight on purpose, telling that tiny voice of doubt that Lucifer would be here tomorrow to help her the way he always did, for as long as he could before Hell inevitably beckoned him back. 

He didn’t talk about it, but Chloe suspected something was going on down there. His ‘business trips’ had been getting longer and more frequent lately, and he was always reticent and touchy the first night of his stay. By morning, he’d be back to himself, and whenever she asked, he’d dance around the question, and she’d almost forget something was wrong until he left again.

Chloe glanced at her watch and discovered that it was now a few minutes past their designated meeting time. She scanned the deserted beach, the black surface of the ocean, but there was no sign of another human being, let alone the Devil. She bit her lip, tried to remind herself that time moved differently in Hell. While Lucifer had a better grasp on it than most — it was his kingdom, after all — there wasn’t a hard and fast conversion rate, and traveling between dimensions wasn’t an exact science. 

She thought about calling Maze or Amenadiel. If nothing else, they could tell her what she already knew: that time was weird in Hell, and that Lucifer would never break his word. But what if something had happened? A hundred worst-case scenarios flickered through her mind. She was not equipped to deal with any of them. 

She was pulling her phone out of her pocket when a flash of white over the ocean caught her eye. She looked up and smiled as the shape on the horizon came closer, going from a pale blur to a distinct shape that was not unlike a massive bird swooping in. 

When he was close enough that she could discern the figure between the wings, she also noticed something was off about the way he was moving. Too low, and off-kilter somehow. His left wing seemed to flap just a half second behind his right, and he was quickly losing altitude. Chloe had just enough time to think that maybe he would, and then he did— he hit the water with an audible splash.

“Lucifer!” she cried. He was less than a hundred feet from shore, he should have heard her, but he didn’t move. His wings lay on the surface of the water like crumpled white trash bags.

She didn’t think, she just acted, taking off her jacket and removing her phone and keys from her pants pockets. Next came the boots. The water would be freezing on her bare skin, but if she got caught in a current, she didn’t want the weight of her boots to drag her down, especially since she would have to deal with Lucifer’s weight already. 

She gritted her teeth and waded into the ocean, moving as fast as she could, both to get to Lucifer quickly, and to acclimatize herself to the water. She thanked — well, not God — that she didn’t live on the East Coast, because the Atlantic would be a million times worse this time of year. As it was, her toes were already tingling. 

The water was up to her shoulders by the time she reached him, and it took all her strength just to lift one of his wings to get to man underneath. He’d never let her touch them before, and if she had a choice, she wouldn’t, but—

He raised his head and drew in a deep gasp of air. It was dark, but Chloe could see the glint of seawater as it ran in rivulets down his face. He coughed a couple of times before he seemed to register than she was there. 

“Detective?” he said hoarsely. He struggled for a moment, but then got his feet under him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his soggy wings hanging more than half in the water behind them. 

“What happened?” Chloe asked, as they began to head for the shore.

“Later,” was all he said. 

The waves rolled up the back of her legs as the water got shallower. Lucifer’s wing sheltered her slightly from the wind, but she felt her core shaking, her body wracked with shivers as it tried keep warm.

“Are you okay?” she asked anyway. 

Lucifer didn’t answer, just kept a tight grip on her and kept them moving. They reached the shore a moment later, and the first thing Chloe did was dig through her discarded jacket to find her phone. 

“My way’s faster, darling,” Lucifer said. He bowed his head, pressed his hands together and closed his eyes. Chloe put on her jacket — not that it was much help — and removed the scarf that was still knotted at her throat. She felt a pang of loss as she wrung the water out; it was likely ruined now. 

She picked up her boots, but didn’t have a chance to do anything with them before Lucifer opened his eyes again. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder — even through the wet layers of wool, he was warm — and she leaned on him as they went to the car. 

There was a whoosh overhead, and then Amenadiel was there, his arms full of blankets and towels. 

“Luci,” he cried. “What happened?”

“We have to get Chloe warm,” said Lucifer, avoiding the question. 

Chloe didn’t know where her keys were, but the passenger door lock popped as they walked up, and the engine was already running by the time Lucifer laid a towel on the seat. He lifted her hair off her neck with another towel, then settled a heavy blanket on top of her. He leaned inside, his wings resting on the roof of the car, and turned on the heat. She grabbed his wrist when he reached to turn the vents towards her. 

“Lucifer,” she said, though her teeth were chattering. “I’m all right.”

He met her gaze for the first time since he’d arrived. In the interior light, she could see the bruises marring his face, the dark circles under his eyes. 

“What’s going on?” she asked. 

He pressed his lips to hers. His mouth was salty, but warm. Fever-hot, in fact. “Stay here,” he said, pulling back.

The door closed, gently but firmly, and Lucifer met Amenadiel in front of the car, on Chloe’s side. Amenadiel had folded his grey wings away, of course, but Lucifer’s were still out, and she could see now the extent of the damage. They bent at awkward angles, the feathers bedraggled and ruffled. They still gleamed, however; she suspected that nothing could take that away. 

She couldn’t see Lucifer’s face, but given Amenadiel’s expression, they were clearly having a serious discussion. She sighed, hating being left out of the loop. She snaked a hand out of her nest of blankets and nudged the window control. 

Neither angel turned his head, so she did it again, and again, until the window was open more than an inch, and she could hear their voices. 

“You’re sure?” Amenadiel said. 

“Positive, brother.”

“Well, if that’s the case—”

“It is.”

“—I’ll have to talk to Father.”

“Better you than me,” said Lucifer, with just a hint of his usual attitude. 

Amenadiel let the remark slide without comment. “Does Chloe know?”

She’d barely managed to close her eyes when Lucifer turned around. “No,” she heard him say. 

“Should we tell her?”

A long silence followed Amenadiel’s question. Chloe opened her eyes a crack, then the rest of the way when she noticed that neither brother was looking in her direction. 

“I don’t know,” Lucifer said finally.

“She could help,” Amenadiel pointed out. 

“She could also get injured, or killed, or worse,” said Lucifer. “War is no place for a civilian. Especially a human.”

“Even if that human was created by divine purpose?”

“I don’t know,” Lucifer said again. 

He sounded so lost. She ached for him, for the stress she’d noticed over the last few months, the frequent trips to Hell, the tightness in his back and shoulders that he just barely managed to hide around her. It was on full display here and now, like it never was when they were alone, and Chloe had an epiphany of sorts: somewhere along the line, he’d stopped being vulnerable with her. 

And now he was facing a war? Alone? 

No, she decided, her hand going for the door handle. No way in — ha — Hell was she letting that happen. 

She marched across the sand with as much dignity as she could muster, being wrapped from head to toe in a floral blanket. She was going to demand to know what was happening, and she was going to help, damn everything else, damn the risks, damn even her soul.

Because whenever she looked at him, she knew she already was.


End file.
